Amazon drawn into gun-control debate
Tech firms and other businesses targeted by activists for their association with NRA
Gun-control activists are demanding that Amazon.com chief executive officer Jeff Bezos do something he has carefully avoided: pick a side in a hot-button political debate.
The online retailer, along with Apple, Roku and other video streaming services, is facing pressure from customers protesting any corporate relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the aftermath of a Florida school shooting that killed 17 people. Even though it doesn’t sell guns or ammunition, Amazon seems to be taking the most heat. Angry consumers started using the hashtag #StopNRAmazon on Twitter, which surfaced last week as customers threatened to cancel their Prime subscriptions.
At issue is NRA TV, a free online channel focused on pro-gun content, which many technology companies offer through their streaming services and devices. Recent episodes criticized Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for what NRA TV said was a failure to act on warning signs about the shooter. In one segment, NRA TV host Grant Stinchfield shouts at the camera: “There was no act of heroism when these deputies were sitting outside taking cover behind a cruiser as kids were getting shot.”
Being dumped from streaming services and devices might limit the gun lobbying group’s reach and visibility, though NRA TV is also available via the organization’s website.
The protest against Amazon and other tech companies followed moves by airlines, hotels, car-rental firms and other businesses to cut ties with the NRA by ending member discounts, and a bank cancelling its NRA-branded credit card. FedEx said it would continue to honour its discount for the group’s members, even though the company supports gun restrictions. The NRA didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Amazon declined to comment on the current campaign. In the past, the company has tried to stay neutral, avoiding comment on political issues that aren’t directly tied to its business.
Activists are learning that when their concerns fall on deaf ears with politicians, businesses are more likely to yield to changes in public sentiment, said Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Center for Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“This is a problem that ought to be worked out in our legislature, but people are turning to corporations because it doesn’t seem like our legislators can get anything done,” he said. “People feel so powerless to change things, this is how they feel they can bring change. I’d expect we’re going to see a lot more of this.”
The approach is having some success. The list of companies severing ties with the NRA includes Delta Air Lines and Hertz, signalling their executives see greater risk affiliating with the group than reward in offering perks to its nearly five million members. As more companies take a stand on political topics, it becomes increasingly difficult for other corporations to keep out of the fray, said Daniel Korschun, an associate pro- fessor of marketing at Drexel University who has studied corporate political activism.
“For executives, this is the part that’s gut-wrenching — because politics are so polarized now, it’s very difficult to find that middle ground,” Korschun said. “Executives are forced to make a choice for one side or the other, and it can be very difficult.”
When it’s content or free speech at issue, the stakes become even higher. NRA TV can also be streamed via other services such as Google’s YouTube or Chromecast devices, or listened to via SiriusXM or iHeartRadio, according to the group’s website.
“People feel so powerless to change things, this is how they feel they can bring change. I’d expect we’re going to see a lot more of this.” ETHAN ZUCKERMAN DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR CIVIC MEDIA, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
The protest puts these services in the uncomfortable position of deciding what kind of information is appropriate based on what some people find objectionable.
“While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel,” said streamingdevice maker Roku. “We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint,” Roku said, adding NRA TV doesn’t violate its policies. Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“There’s a dark side to going after these intermediaries and asking them to remove what we find objectionable,” said MIT’s Zuckerman. “I’m a little nervous about the idea of boycotting a news source into silence.”